8 ms·

Bitcoin banned in Russia?

60 points by markmassie 13y ago

zwtaylor 13y ago
There's an interesting resource on the evolving regulations in Russia on this site. http://www.bitlegal.io/nation/RU.php http://www.bitlegal.io/nation/RU.php
- twobits 13y ago
  I would love a site like this for all laws in (almost) all countries.
jnbiche 13y ago
I'd avoid trusting any one source on this, given that blackhatters wanting to crash the value of Bitcoin to buy low have taken to hacking into Russian newspapers and planting false stories: http://www.coindesk.com/russian-prosecutors-office-btc-e-investigation-hoax/ http://www.coindesk.com/russian-prosecutors-office-btc-e-inv...
kolev 13y ago
At least one country is doing the right thing to protect its citizens from bubbles unlike the US where bubbles are government-sponsored.
- amaks 13y ago
  Or the opposite, Bitcoin is just hard/impossible for Russian government to be placed under its control.
  - kolev 13y ago
    You're free to use foreign currency in Russia unlike in China and other countries, so, I don't get your point.
  - unclebucknasty 13y ago
    You really believe that? Do you think that's also true of the U.S.?
- Markinhos 13y ago
  that's funny, I've always thought Bitcoin would help to reduce the bubbles avoiding the goverments to create them.
  - kolev 13y ago
    With or without Bitcoin, the bubbles in America will always be the financial modus operandi.
    - Carltonian 13y ago
      You can only dampen and wring a towel dry so many times before it starts to tear apart.
      - kolev 13y ago
        Yeah, but people are stupid and especially so when greed kicks in! I always explore Internet phenomenons and try to put myself in the shoes of the affected. I've spent days playing Mafia Wars to see what the hell makes people waste so much time with that crap and I think got it. I did everything a Bitcoiner does for a few months, BitcoinWisdom.com charts are now burnt into my retina, I had nightmares about crashes (some were real when I woke up), and I know first-hand how your mindset changes. Anyway, everybody's in for a quick lazy profit! I got totally disgusted by Bitcoin thanks to people like Barry Silbert (this guys is like an open book), the Winklevii, potheads like Chalie Shrem (http://www.vocativ.com/12-2013/night-bitcoin-millionaire-proud-stoner-charlie-shrem/ http://www.vocativ.com/12-2013/night-bitcoin-millionaire-pro...) who some are now trying to turn into a hero, and even Fred Wilson who was totally arrogant and deceitful during the NYDFS hearing. We, the startupers, of course, like to make money, too, but we know it is not easy, it's actually a lot of work, skills, and luck, and money is almost never top priority - it's just a nice added bonus, a reward if we do good! We want to change the world, but not to change the world so that we get rich from the hoarded coins! I do like the innovation that Bitcoin brought, I like that it brought the attention to some of the problems it's claiming to solve (almost many are false promises - like micropayments), but I don't think it can be sustained for much longer!
thomasjames 13y ago
I suppose this would have nothing to do with the current decline in the value of the ruble, now would it?
shmerl 13y ago
They are just freaked out that it would undermine government control. With all kind of draconian censorship laws on the rise there, this isn't surprising.
jasonlingx 13y ago
What most people do not realise is that it does not matter if Russia, China, the US or any country bans or criminalises bitcoin. All it takes is for 1 small country (like Singapore) to embrace bitcoin for it to be worth $1,000,000 a coin. The first country that wises up to bitcoin, starts investing in mining and other bitcoin infrastructure in a big way, and legitimises its mainstream usage as a currency, is going to reap tremendous benefits. And it's only a matter of time before this happens.
- AnIrishDuck 13y ago
  > The first country that wises up to bitcoin, starts investing in mining and other bitcoin infrastructure in a big way, and legitimises its mainstream usage as a currency, is going to reap tremendous benefits. Like what? Being tied to a deflationary currency? Being unable to influence their own monetary supply? Tying the buying power of its citizens to the computational ability to hash numbers really quickly? Seriously, what benefits possibly favor this approach over creation of an e-currency that the central bank has control over?
  - EarthLaunch 13y ago
    The protection of the rights of its citizens, which is the right thing to do, and which results in economic prosperity. What's needed is someone who is long-term greedy, because this is the best way to enable wealth in a country. Who wants to be a Founding Father of the next United States? Who has more power, the leader of a free and prosperous nation, or the ruler of a starving dictatorship? I'm not saying that Bitcoin is the answer, but that there are awesome reasons why an ambitious country should give its citizens their economic rights.
    - sliverstorm 13y ago
      What rights in particular?
      - EarthLaunch 13y ago
snarfy 13y ago
"A distinctive feature of Bitcoin as a virtual means to mutual savings and security is the lack of real value" As opposed to what, a fiat currency like the ruble?
sdegutis 13y ago
I have mixed feelings about this situation. On one hand, I can understand the advantages of banning Bitcoin in Russia. On the other hand, there are also disadvantages of banning Bitcoin in Russia. Overall, I feel that this is a trade-off, and I'm not sure whether they made the right choice in their decision. I know there are people who will disagree with me about this, but honestly, I have to respectfully disagree.
- icebraining 13y ago
  Welcome to HN, Sir Humphrey Appleby.
dobbsbob 13y ago
All that happened is Russia's central bank issued a warning about bitcoin there is no ban. Localbitcoins Russia still has plenty of listings, plus many Russian fixed rate exchange sites are open for business.
ommunist 13y ago
At the same time Russia allows existence of virtual currencies like Yandex Money and WebMoney. Which really makes me think the whole BTC prohibition in Russia was lobbied by existing russian virtual currency holders. Because I do not want to believe that Obama called Putin and asked to prohibit BTC in exchange of his presence in Sochi.
Eleutheria 13y ago
Bitcoin can't be banned, silly rabbit.
perlpimp 13y ago
No the article says that it is being used in money laundering operations and tax evasion as such the government is monitoring the situation.
sangfroid 13y ago
I went to the website for the General Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation and nowhere can I find the document that is circulating in all these news posts. This link, which you maybe shouldn't click, because who knows what's going on here, [http://www.genproc.gov.ru/smi/news/genproc/news-86432/ http://www.genproc.gov.ru/smi/news/genproc/news-86432/] indicates that it should be in the news section. But when I go there directly, I can't find it. Has anyone been able to even verify the authenticity of the original announcement, let alone interpret what it means? If so, can you share where on the official website you found it? Thanks.
Techskeptic 13y ago
Its a money laundering vehicle. It will be banned.

60 points by markmassie 13y ago

There's an interesting resource on the evolving regulations in Russia on this site. http://www.bitlegal.io/nation/RU.php http://www.bitlegal.io/nation/RU.php

twobits 13y ago
I would love a site like this for all laws in (almost) all countries.

jnbiche 13y ago

I'd avoid trusting any one source on this, given that blackhatters wanting to crash the value of Bitcoin to buy low have taken to hacking into Russian newspapers and planting false stories: http://www.coindesk.com/russian-prosecutors-office-btc-e-investigation-hoax/ http://www.coindesk.com/russian-prosecutors-office-btc-e-inv...

kolev 13y ago

At least one country is doing the right thing to protect its citizens from bubbles unlike the US where bubbles are government-sponsored.

amaks 13y ago
Or the opposite, Bitcoin is just hard/impossible for Russian government to be placed under its control.
- kolev 13y ago
  You're free to use foreign currency in Russia unlike in China and other countries, so, I don't get your point.
- unclebucknasty 13y ago
  You really believe that? Do you think that's also true of the U.S.?
Markinhos 13y ago
that's funny, I've always thought Bitcoin would help to reduce the bubbles avoiding the goverments to create them.
- kolev 13y ago
  With or without Bitcoin, the bubbles in America will always be the financial modus operandi.
  - Carltonian 13y ago
    You can only dampen and wring a towel dry so many times before it starts to tear apart.
    - kolev 13y ago
      Yeah, but people are stupid and especially so when greed kicks in! I always explore Internet phenomenons and try to put myself in the shoes of the affected. I've spent days playing Mafia Wars to see what the hell makes people waste so much time with that crap and I think got it. I did everything a Bitcoiner does for a few months, BitcoinWisdom.com charts are now burnt into my retina, I had nightmares about crashes (some were real when I woke up), and I know first-hand how your mindset changes. Anyway, everybody's in for a quick lazy profit! I got totally disgusted by Bitcoin thanks to people like Barry Silbert (this guys is like an open book), the Winklevii, potheads like Chalie Shrem (http://www.vocativ.com/12-2013/night-bitcoin-millionaire-proud-stoner-charlie-shrem/ http://www.vocativ.com/12-2013/night-bitcoin-millionaire-pro...) who some are now trying to turn into a hero, and even Fred Wilson who was totally arrogant and deceitful during the NYDFS hearing. We, the startupers, of course, like to make money, too, but we know it is not easy, it's actually a lot of work, skills, and luck, and money is almost never top priority - it's just a nice added bonus, a reward if we do good! We want to change the world, but not to change the world so that we get rich from the hoarded coins! I do like the innovation that Bitcoin brought, I like that it brought the attention to some of the problems it's claiming to solve (almost many are false promises - like micropayments), but I don't think it can be sustained for much longer!

thomasjames 13y ago

I suppose this would have nothing to do with the current decline in the value of the ruble, now would it?

shmerl 13y ago

They are just freaked out that it would undermine government control. With all kind of draconian censorship laws on the rise there, this isn't surprising.

jasonlingx 13y ago

What most people do not realise is that it does not matter if Russia, China, the US or any country bans or criminalises bitcoin. All it takes is for 1 small country (like Singapore) to embrace bitcoin for it to be worth $1,000,000 a coin. The first country that wises up to bitcoin, starts investing in mining and other bitcoin infrastructure in a big way, and legitimises its mainstream usage as a currency, is going to reap tremendous benefits. And it's only a matter of time before this happens.

AnIrishDuck 13y ago
> The first country that wises up to bitcoin, starts investing in mining and other bitcoin infrastructure in a big way, and legitimises its mainstream usage as a currency, is going to reap tremendous benefits. Like what? Being tied to a deflationary currency? Being unable to influence their own monetary supply? Tying the buying power of its citizens to the computational ability to hash numbers really quickly? Seriously, what benefits possibly favor this approach over creation of an e-currency that the central bank has control over?
- EarthLaunch 13y ago
  The protection of the rights of its citizens, which is the right thing to do, and which results in economic prosperity. What's needed is someone who is long-term greedy, because this is the best way to enable wealth in a country. Who wants to be a Founding Father of the next United States? Who has more power, the leader of a free and prosperous nation, or the ruler of a starving dictatorship? I'm not saying that Bitcoin is the answer, but that there are awesome reasons why an ambitious country should give its citizens their economic rights.
  - sliverstorm 13y ago
    What rights in particular?
    - EarthLaunch 13y ago

snarfy 13y ago

"A distinctive feature of Bitcoin as a virtual means to mutual savings and security is the lack of real value" As opposed to what, a fiat currency like the ruble?

sdegutis 13y ago

I have mixed feelings about this situation. On one hand, I can understand the advantages of banning Bitcoin in Russia. On the other hand, there are also disadvantages of banning Bitcoin in Russia. Overall, I feel that this is a trade-off, and I'm not sure whether they made the right choice in their decision. I know there are people who will disagree with me about this, but honestly, I have to respectfully disagree.

icebraining 13y ago
Welcome to HN, Sir Humphrey Appleby.

dobbsbob 13y ago

All that happened is Russia's central bank issued a warning about bitcoin there is no ban. Localbitcoins Russia still has plenty of listings, plus many Russian fixed rate exchange sites are open for business.

ommunist 13y ago

At the same time Russia allows existence of virtual currencies like Yandex Money and WebMoney. Which really makes me think the whole BTC prohibition in Russia was lobbied by existing russian virtual currency holders. Because I do not want to believe that Obama called Putin and asked to prohibit BTC in exchange of his presence in Sochi.

Eleutheria 13y ago

Bitcoin can't be banned, silly rabbit.

perlpimp 13y ago

No the article says that it is being used in money laundering operations and tax evasion as such the government is monitoring the situation.

sangfroid 13y ago

I went to the website for the General Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation and nowhere can I find the document that is circulating in all these news posts. This link, which you maybe shouldn't click, because who knows what's going on here, [http://www.genproc.gov.ru/smi/news/genproc/news-86432/ http://www.genproc.gov.ru/smi/news/genproc/news-86432/] indicates that it should be in the news section. But when I go there directly, I can't find it. Has anyone been able to even verify the authenticity of the original announcement, let alone interpret what it means? If so, can you share where on the official website you found it? Thanks.

Techskeptic 13y ago

Its a money laundering vehicle. It will be banned.